Welcome back everyone! Last time, we saw the first battle between our heroes and the resurrected Unomaru come to a close, with both sides injured and reeling from the battle.
How will the heroes deal with the aftermath and how will their friends handle the revelation of Unomaru's return?
What diabolical schemes do Unomaru and his cohorts have in store?
We'll find out now as the Third Arc begins...
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay]
It was around 7:00 PM when Ringo came into the Mitsurugi Agency HQ alongside Touya and Es after the Azure Maiden calmed down from all the sorrow and emotional stress she went through. Upon seeing this, Kuon and three of the soldiers went over to help the two teens over to two of the beds to rest.
"It's okay Touya! We got you!" Kuon said as she and one of Sleipnir's soldiers led Touya to the bed next to Mei's bed. Kuon couldn't help but notice how shaken Es and felt awful for her.
"It's alright Es. You and the others are safe now." Said the high ranking soldier as he led his comrade over to the bed nearby Touya's to rest and calm down. Once that was taken care of, Ringo called up Elise to explain what happened.
"Hey Elise, it's me..." Ringo said in a slightly worn out voice as Touya and Es were laid down on each bed.
"Ringo! Is everyone okay!?" Elise called out in a worried tone as Ringo immediately ran out of the Maha Raja Curry shop as soon as she heard what Kuon said over the phone without explaining herself.
"Well, Kuon and Avenge are fine for the most part and Nu is undergoing repairs. But, I think you'll need to call Yuki and bring everyone else over here..." Ringo replied as she turned to a comatose Mei along with Touya and Es.
"Touya is hurt, Es is in emotional turmoil and... Mei is unconscious..." Ringo said bitterly as she looked to the three with a look she rarely shows.
Worry and Sadness...
The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]
Wendy sat in one of the empty chairs staring off into the screen in a state of shock and dismay. After seeing Mei's intense display of rage and power, the Mistress of the Wind lost all her will to fight at that point and made her question about why Mei and Kuon fought Unomaru to begin with.
"What... did you... do...?" Wendy once again replied like a broken record on loop, trying to find an answer that wouldn't be answered. At that point, the door open with Haruki walking into the lab with Unomaru's head and yet Wendy didn't respond.
"Hey Wendy, Souichiro needs one of his spare bodies! W-Wendy?" Haruki said as he realized how the wind mage has not responded to him coming in through the door.
"Wendy Kazehaya! Haruki was just addressing you!" Unomaru raised his voice slightly with that broken static tone once again and this time, Wendy snapped out of it and turned to face them as she stood up.
"Oh! Y-you're back!" Wendy replied with a semblance of concern, yet she had a lot of questions that needed answering and depending on the replies, she may have to fly solo...
"You have a lot of nerve leaving me behind back there! I nearly got killed by Embryo Storage!" Unomaru yelled back as his one undamaged eye glowed slightly. This naturally confused Haruki.
"Yeah, why'd you leave him behind like that?" Haruki asked the Wind Mage in a calmer tone as to not antagonize the Wind Mage. They haven't known each other long, but he thought she'd be loyal to the cause.
"You didn't see what I saw up there! That Shrine Maiden was... screaming and crying in pure rage just because I mentioned Unomaru's name in front of her! It was like being in the center of a chaotic thunderstorm! It was like staring into the eyes of a mother bear who's child has been KILLED! So... I just left her and Kuon alone and... it made me wonder what happened between you two..." Wendy argued back in a loud tone, catching her breath which caused Haruki to shrink back. Even Unomaru's eye stopped glowing for the time as even he was taken aback by this outburst.
'So she ran back here because Mei FRIGHTENED her? Hmmm... I didn't account for Mei very well, did I? Than again, I've never seen Mei conjure up a lightning speel THAT huge before...' Unomaru thought as he recalled Mei screaming bloody murder before electrocuting him. He thought maybe that Wendy injured or killed Kuon, but it appeared that wasn't the case based on her tone of voice and her explanation.
"We'll talk in a moment. Haruki, see that spare body that isn't covered by the blanket? Plug my head up there and I will handle the rest. It shouldn't take too long." Unomaru instructed as Haruki walked over to the spare body in question. It looked identical to the first body, but it was more humanoid looking and had more details applied to it. The body was lean and had a mix of white and black metal making it up instead of pure silver metal and like the previous body, it had a light blue scarf around the neck.
"Here you go man." Haruki said after plugging him in with Wendy just sitting back in her chair, waiting for the mind transfer to complete before she proceeded to grill the scientist for information and determine if he's really deserving to be followed or not.
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay]
It was around 7:15 PM when Elise and the others showed up as Kuon and Ringo remained in the Sick Bay to watch over the three teens as Touya and Es fell alseep only a minute after they were laid down. Ringo could hear their footsteps as Elise, Hinata, Akira and Kiri came through the doors.
"Kuon! Ringo! We're here!" Elise said as she and the others came through with shock and sadness etched on each of their faces as they rushed over to where Touya, Es and Mei rested.
"Touya... Mei... Es-chan..." Hinata said in a heartbroken tone at seeing her friends hurt like this as tears began to fall down her eyes.
"Aw man... this is my fault! If only I knew what the Metal Man was capable of, if only I heard more about him..." Akira said, blaming himself for not learning more about this mad machine hurting his friends. Compared to Unions, who couldn't be blamed for their condition, this Metal Man willfully harmed his friends
"Akira... you shouldn't blame yourself. You couldn't have know he was capable of this... no one could have known..." Kuon replied as she looked at Es. From what Ringo said, Es nearly ripped Unomaru to shreds at the near expense of suppressing her emotions because Touya was shot down. Kuon couldn't blame the Azure Maiden as the Fire Empress valued Touya like a brother, just as she valued Mei and Es like sisters and it angered her that she couldn't do anything to help them when they needed it.
"W-we called Yuki and she's on her way here as fast as she can." Kiri said as he looked at Es, who looked so broken and worn down that he could have mistaken her for someone else. If someone he fell in love with got hurt like what happened to Touya, he'd know what it would be like to be in Es' shoes.
"Good. Fortunately, Mei wasn't as badly hurt since she only has a few scrapes and cuts, but Touya got hit on the left side of his chest by a laser beam. If it weren't for Es slowing the bleeding down with her jacket and Kuon calling me, it would have been too late for him..." Ringo replied solemnly as she pulled out Es' jacket, which was stained with blood. Touya's blood to be specific. The sight alone made everyone feel sick, yet they all mentally thanked Es for doing what was needed to keep Touya alive for Ringo to help him.
"Not to mention... Touya mentioned on the way here that Es was nearly strangled to death by that metallic monstrosity and as for for Nu, she's currently resting and getting repaired in her capsule while Avenge is watching her." Ringo continued to explain as Kiri took a glance at Es and noticed a faint bruise around her neck. The thought of being choked to death brought a hand to his own neck. Five minutes afterward, the doors was slammed open by Yuki, who breathed heavily as she walked in to see her brother along with Mei and Es in the sick bay as a mixture of worry and relief filled her.
"I... I'm here now..." Yuki replied as she hurried over to Touya with her medical kit and opened it up. While it was nothing new seeing her ward being injured, she didn't imagine she would have to patch him, Es and Mei up this soon.
"Hinata, Akira? Will you give me a hand?" Yuki asked the other as they nodded in agreement to help patch up the three in question. As Kuon watched, Mei groaned as she woke up with Kuon looking down to face the Shrine Maiden.
"K-Kuon..." Mei said weakly as she raised a hand up to Kuon, who than took it gently as she noticed the Shrine Maiden crying.
"I'm... I'm sorry..." Mei apologized with tears in her eyes as she remembered the violent outburst she unleashed earlier as she showed a side of her no one should ever have to see.
"Mei... you don't need to apologize. We all get it..." Kuon reassured her friend as she gripped her hand tightly, empathizing with Mei's pain completely. After all, her father had been murdered by Sechs, who in turn "killed" the kind brother she once knew.
"Are... are the others...?" Mei asked the Fire Empress as she hoped she didn't hit their friends with her lightning magic, cringing at the idea of hurting or killing her people close to her.
"No. You didn't hit. You only aimed at and hit the bastard responsible for this whole mess... unfortunately he hurt Touya, Nu and Es. The good news is that Es sent him running after you damaged him. We're all safe for now." Kuon explained to Mei with a reassuring smile. Kuon also noticed that Mei is much more calm in regards to Unomaru now, as if she got the awful pain out of her system.
"I'm still sorry for losing it..." Mei said as she attempted to get up, but Kuon gently pushed her back down.
"Don't think of getting up now. Besides... we need to let everyone know who that metallic menace truly is. For everyone's sake..." Kuon said as the Shrine Maiden nodded in agreement as Yuki, Hinata and Akira finished replacing Touya's bandages before moving on to Es. Ringo, knowing that everyone is in good hands with Yuki here, decided to head to the laboratory to check up on Avenge and Nu.
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Laboratory]
Avenge wwatched over Nu as the soldiers observed her condition from inside her capsule. Fortunately, Nu didn't suffer any fatal injuries, but it will be some time before Nu can move around.
"Avenge, are you certain you don't want to head to the sick bay? You look like you can use a patch up." One of the soldiers in charge of Nu asked the bounty hunter in regards to his injuries.
"It's nothing major." Avenge replied in response. Although he's lucky to not have suffered anything major like broken bones or internal bleeding, he can't deny that his body was hurting and yet, he had no wish to burden the others with is own injuries.
"You should probably take his advice." Ringo said as she walked into the laboratory with the soldier tensing up a little before easing up. The reason the soldiers aren't trying to restrainnher is because she is an ally of Mei and the others, not to mention that as one of the Ten Sages, she could easily pin him down if they tried to attack her.
"I don't wish to burden the Agency because I got careless." Avenge replied as he continued observing Nu and he couldn't shake Nu speaking in complete sentences out of his mind and how emotional she's become. He couldn't helped but take an interest in the Robotic Maiden as she developed a semblance of a human conscience ever sense he saw her wandering around the Restricted Ward surrounded by the fireflies.
"Trust me. You should, especially sense Yuki is here patching Touya and the others up." Ringo followed up as Avenge glanced at her before grunting and leaving the laboratory to the Sick Bay. When it comes to Yuki, Avenge can't really win. Ringo walked over to Nu for a brief moment and looked at her through the capsules window before facing one of the soldiers.
"So, what does Nu run off of for power?" Ringo asked the soldiers out of curiosity, with them hesitanting for a moment.
"E-electricity and Magic Talismans miss." One of the soldiers replied.
"Commander Mei is currently looking for an alternate energy source so Nu can be outside of her Recharge Station. Unfortunately, she hasn't found one yet." The other soldier followed up as Ringo put a hand to her chin in thought.
"Thank you for telling me. I'll head back to the Sick Bay." Ringo said as the soldiers saluted her as she began to make her way back as she figured that Yuki's probably done patching everyone up.
'I think... I might be able to help Mei out in regards to Nu...' Ringo thought to herself as she may have an idea in regards to helping Nu's quest to become human. After all, Ringo herself is striving for the Ultimate Curry, so why not help Nu in her quest to become the 'Ultimate' human?
The Wharf [Secret Laboratory]
It took about ten minutes, but eventually Unomaru was able to upload his consciousness to his new body, taking a few easy steps and getting accustomed to it, clenching his hands a few times. Needless to say, his mental state apparently refreshed itself upon the transfer. It felt strange, yet assuring.
"You feeling better man?" Haruki asked Unomaru as he saw him perform a few "stretching" motions.
"Yes... much better. Unfortunately, this body is only 80% complete as it doesn't have any weapons or combat data yet, so I won't be going onto the for some time." Unomaru replied while making note of the body's state. He had meant to include weaponry and combat data once he had finished off Es and Touya, however plans had ultimately changed. Once that was taken care of, Wendy got up and walked over with her staff in hand just in case things got ugly, something both Haruki and Unomaru noticed...
"Now, you're going to tell me EVERYTHING, you hear me? What is your history with Mei? And don't even think about trying to attack me." Wendy demanded as Unomaru's new dark blue eye lenses glowed a little as he admitted that Wendy was in a better position. After a moment or two passed...
"Well, if it means earning your trust and letting you know how insane Mei is, I'll tell you what I told Haruki this morning, in addition to my history with the Shrine Maiden. Haruki, you may want to listen again to hear some new information." Unomaru said as he recounted his experience to Wendy while explaining some additional parts he had yet to tell Haruki, once again leaving out Code Embryo's existence.
Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Sick Bay]
It was around 8:00 PM when Yuki, Hinata and Akira checked over everyone, including Avenge who came to get checked up by Yuki by Ringo's insistence. Thanks to Ringo's healing magic, Touya's injuries have healed and will need to keep the badages on for at least three days before he took them off. In regards to Es, the broken ribs she took two days ago didn't frature again nor did she suffer any new broken bones and thankfully her throat only suffered minor bruising, prompting Yuki to apply some arnica gel to make the slight swelling go down and like Touya, should take at least three days for it to heal. Kuon, Mei and Avenge took the least amount of damage and just got a few bandages applied to them. Once she took care of everyone, she sat on one of the empty beds as Touya and Es rested peacefully which they had earned after this stressful ordeal. Kuon and Mei then began to explain what happened earlier tonight to everyone, including Wendy and the dreadful fact of the Metal Man's true identity with Avenge adding in parts from his own point of view.
It took around ten minutes to explain the conflict overall and needless to say, the room was filled with silence as everyone took the time to process the situation.
"I can't believe it. Wendy attacked you guys, because of what happened to Acht?" Elise said as Wendy's presence was more pressing than Unomaru as she didn't know him too well. Yes, she lied about Wendy doing "shady" stuff to Kuon to become her roomate, but after Kuon got them to meet, they hit if off pretty well and it saddened her that her friend is trying to kill Kuon and Mei. Ringo however was greatly disappointed that Wendy would willingly ally herself with Unomaru and yet, she couldn't blame Wendy's behavior as this sister like friend Acht mentioned to her once finally made sense.
"Yes... I know...but she's not the person to lie about how she feels..." Kuon said with shame. It's not like she wanted Acht, Drei and Sechs dead to begin with, but it the end, she, Mei, Avenge and Touya did what they had to do in order to stop them from hurting anyone else.
"And you're saying that scientist creep, Unomaru, is the Metal Man? But how, didn't you say that this "Ten Sage" guy killed him?" Akira questioned as he knew that people don't have "Extra Lives" like in a video game. While Akira found him quirky, he never thought he was capable of such cruelty until he learned what he did to Hinata, Es and Mei from Touya and Mei herself. That and along with the fact that Unomaru only cared about his Union Crystal over his well being threw any little respect he had for him out the window. Even more now that he knew that Unomaru was out for his friends blood.
Yuki however had very mixed feelings on Unomaru when she first met him as he intially showed himself as chatty and eccentric if decent man. While it's true she met Mei and Es, both of whom are very good hearted young women, because of him, once she saw that he didn't care for Akira's well being and gossiped about his Union Crystal, she knew that he was not in his right mind and even sent him out in an angry tone. Additionally, once she learned that Unomaru kidnapped Hinata and tortured her, it roused a fire in Yuki to the point that if she were there, she wouldn't have pounded Unomaru's face in before putting him in a gurney. She IS a doctor after all, not a murderer...
Hinata however, only felt sadness and pity for Unomaru. She saw him as family and yet, he said and did terrible things to Touya and Es in addition to using her as a tool. Kuon and Mei were thankful that she didn't remember being the Embryo other than being told that Unomaru kidnapped and tortured her, which is true. Needless to say, while Hinata is sad that Unomaru is still doing awful things, she couldn't bring herself to hate him.
"I don't know Wendy as well as Kuon and Elise, but she wasn't joking about that "man". Somehow, he uploaded a copy of his mind into a robotic shell to revive himself inncase something happened to him..." Mei replied as she laid against an elevated pillow to discuss the matter with everyone. What everyone thought of her in regards to her outburst can wait as Mei thought it important to warn everyone about him.
"Not that I don't want him to find you guys, but why lure all of you here? It sounds like he knew you well..." Kiri asked nervously and both Mei and Kuon knew he raised a good point. He knows where they lived, so why did he go around asking for where Es and Touya were at? This brought the others to ponder that themselves, except for Avenge who had an idea.
"This might be a guess... but what if his memory files were corrupted? It would make sense that he couldn't find anyone." Avenge theorized as the others looked back at him and realized that he is most likely correct in that assessment.
"And this is why I don't rely on things like the internet to find out things. That and it takes the fun out of figuring things out for yourself." Ringo chimed in in an attempt to lighten up the situation while once again explaining how she doesn't like how technology takes the effort out of hard work. Kuon and the others except Avenge smiled a little bit before getting back on the subject at hand.
"Avenge is right! Memory backup doesn't always work right. That corrupted part must be the Himezuru and Amanohokosaka Resident addresses. That must be why he was wandering around the city for information!" Elise chimed in while hammering her fist into her palm. As a hacker herself, she knows the ins and outs of data management and that even genius' like Unomaru can slip up if rushed.
"Not to mention that metal his body is made out of... it appears to be made of some type of rare metal. If we can find out the type of metal his body is and if it's what I think, we might find some weakness in him." Avenge followed up in regards to his own observations.
"Plus, if his base is at the Wharf, he's not gonna last long." Ringo chimed in as everyone still has the clue of where Unomaru and Wendy might have ran away too. The high ranking soldier, who stood and listened to everything so far turned to Mei.
"Commander Mei, are we still green for investigating the Wharf around 9:00 AM tomorrow morning?" The soldier asked the Shrine Maiden in response as she was left deep in thought. What if they slipped away and moved to a new spot while they are resting? With that, Avenge got up...
"Kazuto, where are you going?" Yuki addressed the Bounty Hunter by his real name as he headed for the door. Yuki really couldn't stop her friend even if she wanted too.
"To the Wharf to observe anything suspicious. Mei, save your men for the scheduled time tomorrow and don't stress over this." Avenge said as he left through the door to head out, earning an exasperated smile from Yuki.
"He can be stubborn... but he wouldn't be Kazuto if he wasn't..." Yuki replied with a small smile prompting some light hearted chuckling.
"Pardon me, but since you are friends and associates of Commander Mei, you are all more than welcome to stay the night here for the time being. It might be the safest option right now." The soldier recommended to everyone present as they took his request to some consideration. Right now, it is late and it might be good for Mei, Touya and Es to have Yuki nearby.
"I'll need to contact the Hospital and let them know where I'm at. I'll be right back." Yuki said as she got up to make a private call to the Hospital. Since the Hospital works in cooperation with the Mitsurugi Agency, it shouldn't be a problem for Yuki to stay at HQ for the night.
"Captain... please lead the others to the spare barracks room so they can rest for the night." Mei asked the high ranking soldier in question.
"Yes Ma'am!" The Captain said as he waited for the others to lead them to a sleeping quarters.
"Good night Mei. I hope you and the others will feel better." Hinata replied with a small smile before exiting the room. After all, tomorrow is a new day and everything usually gets better.
"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will turn out okay." Akira replied with a fingure salute as he left. He knew beating himself up won't help and he knew a good night's rest is what they needed.
"Yeah. You stoped Freaks and I'm sure we'll stop this Unomaru." Kiri said as he left, knowing that somehow and someway, they will triumph over evil once again. Once they left, the Captain looked back at Kuon and Elise as they remained where they are at as they look back at each other and nodded in silent agreement.
"If it's no trouble Captain, me and Elise will stay here for the night." Kuon replied earning a surprised look from the Shrine Maiden and after a moment.
"I understand. Commander Mei, you have good friends looking after you along with Es and Kagari. Rest well tonight." The Captain said as he left to escort Hinata, Akira and Kiri to their room, with Ringo preparing to follow them.
"Don't stay up too late now..." Ringo said in with a small smile as she left the room with everyone else. As soon as everyone was gone, Mei lowered her head and covered her face with her hands in sadness and shame. Elise noticed this and walked over to where Kuon is sitting at as the Fire Empress put a reassuring hand on her back.
"Mei? Mei, what's wrong?" Elise asked the Shinre Maiden as soon as she got near her bedside, wondering what was wrong with her friend as she heard sobbing through her hands.
"I... I just put everyone in danger just to hurt Unomaru... why... why is everyone being so nice to me after what I did?!" Mei said in a voice that was filled with so much guilt and sadness as she was deeply ashamed at herself for losing control of herself.
"But you didn't hurt anyone..." Elise replied in a soft tone which prompted the Shinre Maiden to glare at the Magic Guild Observer.
"Don't you get..? I could have killed Kagari, Es, Nu or Avenge... all because of my grudge againt Unomaru...!" Mei said as tears began to fall down onto the blanket that was pulled over her when she was unconscious.
"Mei... you lost your family because of what Unomaru did, so your anger was understandable and I saw what happened and you never aimed your attack at them. I don't think anyone would hold it against you." Kuon reassured the Shrine Maiden as Mei wiped away her tears as more began to fall down.
"You know she's right, Mei..." Said a familar voice as Mei, Kuon and Elise saw Touya awake as he looked at them.
"Touya! You're awake!" Kuon said with a look of relief on her face.
"Sorry for worrying everyone... but Mei, we all get it that Unomaru used your father as leverage against you and desecrated your mother's memory. Besides, you didn't aim that spell at us to begin with and besides, thay spell weakend him so that we were able to stop him for the time being..." Touya apologized before he explained what Kuon and Elise were trying to tell Mei in an effort to cheer up the Shrine Maiden.
"I don't deserve you guys... it still amazes me that you wanted to be my friends when all I do is just push you guys away and get angry for the prettiest of reasons..." Mei said as more tears came loose while reflecting on her past behavior. Granted, the only thing she doesn't regreat is her hatred of the Magic Guild for running her family's name in the mud, but she regretted her treatment of Kuon since they're friendly rivals now. Plus, being friends with Elise the first time they met showed that just because they're from an organization she hates, it doesn't mean she should hate them. There was once a saying, "Hate the monk, not his robes", as Mei was truly angry with the now deceased Guild Leaders.
"Mei, people do things they regret. I mean look at yourself... you clearly bawling your eyes out. It's true you can get upset, but we can tell you didn't ask to be this way and that your want to be honest with us." Kuon added on as Mei began to calm down.
"Yeah, I mean your besties with Kuon and Touya now! Not to mention you have the rest of us too!" Elise said with a big grin on her face as she placed a hand on her chest with pride. Mei than finally recalled that even in her pain filled mind, she truly did intend to only attack Unomaru.
"I still should have been more careful..." Mei said solemnly as she sniffed occasionally from the crying she did with Elise handing her a tissue to blow her nose.
"That's the thing. People make mistakes and we can correct them. After all, I was pretty reckless myself..." Kuon said bashfully recounting how she ran out during the Embryo Incident to confront Sechs with no intention of returning.
"Kuon is right Mei..." Heard another voice as everyone, Touya included turned to see that Es woke up herself.
"Es... are you okay?" Touya asked the Azure Maiden as she stared at the ceiling with an tired look on her face as tears escaped her eyes.
"Es?" Mei asked the Azure Maiden as she cried herself. Mei heard about what Unomaru did to Touya, so she believed Es was crying because of what she witnessed, but...
"I did something that... I shouldn't have done tonight..." Es continued as tears kept streaming down her face while showing an expression that says "I'm done with everything today...". It broke Touya's heart to see his beloved broken up like this.
"What are you saying Es?" Mei asked Es, briefly putting her own grief aside for a moment to adress what Es is saying as the Azure Maiden turned toward everyone.
"At least you didn't suppress your emotional state..." Es followed up as she began to explain to everyone about what occurred during the battle with Unomaru, with everyone unaware that Yuki was hiding behind the door, overhearing the conversation as worry and anxiety filled her body as she heard about the terrible battle her family had to deal with.
To Be Continued...
The aftermath of the battle left both the heroes and villains tired and worn out...
How will the heroes rebound from this ordeal? What is going through Yuki's mind? What will Wendy do once she hears Unomaru's "story" between him and Mei?
We will find out next time.
